Joe Christensen covered Major League Baseball for 15 years, including three seasons at the Baltimore Sun and eight at the Star Tribune, before switching to the college football beat. He’s a Faribault, Minn., native who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1996. He covered Jim Wacker’s Gophers for the Minnesota Daily and also wrote about USC, UCLA and the Rose Bowl for the Riverside Press-Enterprise before getting this chance to cover football again.

Wolitarsky standing out at receiver for Gophers

Drew Wolitarsky quickly emerged as a go-to receiver for the Gophers last fall as a true freshman, and his growth continues to show this spring.

Wolitarsky made two impressive plays in Tuesday's practice, turning one pass from Mitch Leidner on a slant pattern into a long gain. Moments later, the 6-3 Wolitarsky made a diving catch. He added another diving catch Thursday on a pass from Conor Rhoda, giving that unit a key third-down conversion.

At moments like that, you're reminded that Wolitarsky is California's all-time high school leader in career receptions (281) and receiving yardage (5,148).

"Drew’s had a great spring so far," Coach Jerry Kill said. "You don’t realize he’s 225 pounds and a very storng kid. As you play as a freshman, it’s a learning curve, but you build some confidence up, and he’s a really, really good football player."

Note: The Gophers will hold Spring Practice No. 8 on Saturday at 11:20 a.m., in the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. All spring practices are open to the public.